| Sam the Sham |
16 June 2003
|
Waksal Gets the Max
Mr. Sam Waksal, former head of the bio-tech firm ImClone and friend of Ms. Martha Stewart, was sentenced last week to 87 months in prison for charges related to his insider trading activities. Many claim that this is justice done, and to the extent Mr. Waksal is punished, that is true. However, there is the matter of repairing the damage done to the market by his actions. Justice in that sense is nowhere in sight.
What Mr. Waksal has done is a severe crime against capitalism. That is meant without irony, sarcasm or whimsy. Capitalism has provided the human race with a luxurious lifestyle, leisure time, and the opportunity to better one's position. The protesting done in these pages are against capitalism as the end rather than the means that has been adopted as the prevailing view in 21st century life.
Ultimately, though, capitalism rests on the trust of investors in the management of publicly held firms. They hand their unproductive wealth to these people so it may be productive, so that consumers have choice, workers have jobs, and they may have profits. When that trust is abused, as Mr. Waksal admitted to doing, the entire system is undermined.
Sadly, more regulation and better policing will not repair the damage done. They are steps in ensuring that there are fewer repeats of the sordid little affair, but they cannot revive the trust entire. Nothing can. Actually, 87 months seems a bit lenient in light of that.